Rqller weighting means



Dec. 3, 1957 J. NoGul-:RA 2,814,339

RQLLER WEIGHTING MEANSv Filed July 5, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 3, 1957 J. NoGUERA ROLLER WEIGHTING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 3. 1952 United States Patent ROLLER WEIGHTING MEANS Joseph Noguera, Manchester, England, assignor to Casablancas High Draft Company Limited, Salford, Manchester, England, a British company Application July 3, 1952, Serial No. 297,090

Claims priority, application Great Britain July 11, 1951 Claims. (Cl. 19-135) This invention relates to roller weighting means for weighting the top drafting rollers in spinning and preparatory machines having three or more consecutive pairs of drafting rollers, the means being of the kind employing a saddle assembly which can be arranged to bear downwardly on the aforesaid top rollers under the action of a spring or other weight exerting a downward pull on the saddle assembly through the intermediary of a weighting hook.

A main object of the present invention is to provide an improved coupling for such weighting means which is capable of operation in a simple and eicient manner to connect or disconnect the weighting hook and saddle assembly and also to apply and relieve the weight on the latter. A further object of the invention is to simplify removal of the front top roller while the weighting pressure of the saddle assembly continues to be applied to the other top rollers.

According to the present invention, there is provided weighting means of the kind and for the purpose specified, wherein a hook-shaped coupler member, having a dependent shank part adapted for engagement with the weighting hook, is pivotally connected to a link which is in turn pivoted on the saddle assembly so that the hook portion of the coupler member describes an arc around the pivotal connection between the link and saddle assembly, the arrangement being such that, by rotating the said link about its pivot, the dependent shank of the coupler, when engaged with the weighting hook, can be raised or lowered in relation to the saddle assembly for the purpose of applying or relieving weighting pressure on the said assembly, and, when in the lowered position, can be displaced laterally towards either end of the assembly to move the dependent shank into or out of position for engagement with the weighting hook.

The link between the coupler member and saddle assembly is preferably constituted by the shorter arm of an L-shaped lever which is pivotally attached to the saddle assembly adjacent the extremity of the shorter arm and to the coupler member adjacent the junction of the two arms, the longer arm of the lever providing a handle whereby the link can be rotated to actuate the coupler member.

ln order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect one embodiment thereof will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: n

Figure l is a part-sectional side elevation showlng four consecutive roller pairs mounted on part of a roller stand, the rop roners being weighted by a Saddle assembly and spring influenced weighting hook connected by coupling means in accordance with the inventlon,

Figure 2 is a part-sectional side elevation showing part of the weighting arrangement of Figure 1 with the coupler means in a position in which weight is relieved from the saddle assembly, and

Figure 3 is a party-sectional side elevation showmg part "ice 2 of the weighting arrangement of Figure l with the coupler means in position for withdrawal from the weighting hook.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention is described as applied to a machine having four consecutive roller pairs 1, 2, 3 and 4 mounted in known manner upon a roller stand, part of which is shown at 5. The rollers 2 of the second roller pair are each arranged to carry an elongated endless belt loop 6 in accordance with the well known Casablancas High Draft system, these belt loops being supported at their forward ends by tensor members 7 and being guided laterally by a cradle 8. Immediately behind the belt loops 6 there is provided a condenser 9 mounted on a traverse bar 10 of the machine in known manner.

The weighting means for the top rollers of the roller pairs include a saddle assembly having a front saddle 11 and a rear saddle 12, arranged in tandem, to bear respectively on the top rollers of the first and second roller pairs 1 and 2 and on the top rollers of the third and fourth roller pairs 3 and 4. The two saddles 11 and 12 are connected by an elongated bridging member 13 having dependent bifurcated front and rear ends 13a, 13b, between the arms of which the front and rear saddles 11 and 12 are respectively pivotally mounted as at 11a and 12a. Between the saddles, the bridging member 13 is provided with a slot 13e which extends therethrough from the upper to the lower edge, and an L-shaped actuating lever, having one arm 14 considerably longer than the other arm 15, is arranged partially within the slot 13C. The shorter arm 15 of this lever is pivotally mounted near its extremity on a pin 16 which extends transversely through the slot walls. The longer arrn 14 of the actuating lever projects upwardly from the slot above the bridging member 13 in a position where it is readily accessible, and terminates in a finger piece 14a.

A coupler member 1 7 having a hook-like shape similar to a question mark is pivotally connected at 17a, adjacent the extremity of its curved portion, to the junction of the two arms 14, 15 of the actuating lever, and is arranged so that the curved portion of the coupler partially encircles the pivotal connection 16 between the actuating lever and bridging member 13 While the stem 17b of the coupler depends downwardly from the bridging member and between the saddles 11 and 12. The shorter arm 15 of the actuating lever thus provides a link which connects the coupler member with the bridging member 13. The coupler member may conveniently be formed by two similarly shaped spaced parallel strips which are held together at the extremity of the curved portion by the pivot 17a in the form of a pin which extends through an aperture located at the junction of the arms of the actuating lever as aforesaid and, at the opposite extremity, by a further transverse pin 17e which provides a bar for engaging the hooked end 18a of a weighting hook 18.

The weighting hook 18 is coupled in known manner to the lower end of a coil spring 19 provided in a casing 2l) positioned beneath the roller stand 5, the spring 19 being arranged to bear downwardly on the weighting hook 18 when a stop 18b on the weighting hook has been lifted off its seating 20a as shown in Figure 1.

The arrangement described and illustrated operates in an extremely simple manner. For the purpose of applying weight to the top rollers 1, 2, 3 and 4, the saddle assembly isy placed in the required position thereon as shown in Figure 1 and the arm 14 of the actuating lever is forwardly inclined towards the front saddle, in relation to the longitudinal axis of the weighting hook, as shown in Figure 3. In this position of the actuating lever, the depending part 17b of the coupler member will be projecting substantially to its fullest extent from the underl surface of the bridging member 13 and the hook engaging bar 17C will be located below the hooked end f the weighting hook 18 and to one side of the latter. If now the arm 14 of the actuating lever is angularly displaced about the pivotal connection 16 of the lever into the position shown in Figure 2, in which it is substantially in line with the weighting hook 18, the depending part 17h of the coupler member will move laterally towards the weighting hook 18 until the engaging bar 17e enters or lies just below the hook recess. Further angular movement of the arm 14 of the actuat ing lever towards the rear saddle and into the position shown in Figure l will then act to withdraw the dependent part 17b of the coupler member upwardly in relation to the bridging member 13, so that the engaging bar 17e thereon will bear upwardly under the hooked end 13a of the weighting hook. lifted against the action of the spring 19, and thereby applies a weighting pressure to the bridging member 13 and thus also to the top rollers through the saddles 11 and 12. In the weighted position the centre of the pivotal connection 17a between the coupler member 17 and the actuating lever is located above and slightly to the rear of the centre of the pivotal connection 16 between the actuating lever and the bridging member. The device is thus maintained stable in the weighted position. It will be appreciated that whilst a spring has been illustrated as supplying the weighting pressure, such pressure may alternatively be applied in various other well known ways.

To release pressure from the top rollers a reverse operation from that just described is performed. The arm 14 of the actuating lever is first drawn upwardly into the in line position shown in Figure 2, to relieve the weight, and then is subsequently drawn forward into the position shown in Figure 3, whereupon the coupler member 17 is contacted by the pivot 16 on which the actuating lever is mounted whereby the engaging bar 17e of the coupler member is moved rearwardly clear of the weighting hook 18. The entire saddle assembly can then be lifted from the rollers. Y

With such an arrangement it is highly desirable for the coupler member 17 to have considerable movement in the longitudinal direction of the weighting hook so that, if the saddle assembly is set lower in the machine than it should normally be due, for example, to inaccuracies in the manufacture of components, irregularities in the fitting of the machine or variations in diameter of the top rollers, there will still be sufiicient range of movement of the coupler member to ensure that the weighting hook can be lifted sufficiently to move the stop 13b from its seating 20a and apply the requisite pressure. Similarly, it is equally important to be able to disengage the coupler member 17 from the weighting hook if, for similar reasons, the saddle assembly is set higher in the machine than is normal. In practice it is desirable to provide for approximately a quarter of an inch. vertical clearance either way to avoid the foregoing difculty so that the coupler member may be required to have a total longitudinal movement of some half an inch. The coupler member according to the invention has a range of movement in this region and can therefore be relied upon to operate efficiently under all reasonable conditions.

The said hook is thus The weighting hook 1S is often required to operate v in a very limited space between the second pair of draftrollers 2 and the traverse bar 1G so that it is not possible to move the hook laterally to any great extent for the purpose of applying and relieving the` weight on the saddle assembly as would be necessary if the hook were connected directly to the actuating lever. With the arrangement as described, it will be appreciated that the pivotal movement of the actuating lever for weighting and unweighting the assembly is absorbed by the upper part of the coupler which describes an arc round the pivotal mounting 16 of the actuating lever. The depending stem 17h of the coupler, however, during this movementy of the upper part is displaced in a direction substantially in line with the longitudinal axis of the weighting hook 18 so that the latter is not required to move laterally during the Weighting or unweighting operation.

The invention also provides for removal of the front top drafting roller 1 while pressure continues to be applied by the saddle assembly to the three remaining top rollers of the roller pairs 2, 3 and 4. To this end a forwardly projecting linger piece 11b is provided on the leading end of the front saddle 11 and a notch, forming a forwardly directed shoulder 21, is provided in the upper surface of the saddle 11 to the rear of the pivotal connection 11a between the saddle and bridging member. Mounted immediately above the saddle 11 so as to pivot on a pin 22 between the arms of the bifurcated front end 13a of the bridging member 13, is a pawl 23 the tail end 23a of which can abut the shoulder 21 on the saddle 11 and the forward end of which is extended to provided a finger piece 23h. If now it is desired to relieve weight from the front top drafting roller for the purpose of removing the latter, the finger piece 11b at the leading end of the front saddle 11 is lifted and the saddle is turned about its pivot 11a into a position in which the tail end 23a of the pawl 23 can drop under its own weight into the notch and bear against the forwardly directed shoulder 21. In this position, the under rear face of the saddle comes to rest against the neck of the second top roller. The assembly then remains locked and the top front roller can be removed while weighting pressure on the remaining three rollers is maintained. To reapply pressure to the front top roller, the finger piece 11b at the leading end of the front saddle is first pulled slightly upwards and the finger piece 23b at the front end of the pawl 23 is then depressed so that the tail end 23a of the pawl moves upwardly out of the notch, whereupon the saddle can again resume its operative position on the neck of the front top roller.

I claim:

1. A roller weighting device in a drafting mechanism having a plurality of consecutive pairs of drafting rollers, said device comprising a saddle assembly adapted to bear on the top rollers of said roller pairs, weighting means including an upwardly extending weighting hook positioned below said roller pairs and urged downwardly against a fixed stop by said weighting means, a coupler member having a substantially U-shaped portion and a shank portion extending from one leg of the U-shaped portion adapted for engagement with said weighting hook,V and a link pivotally mounted on said saddle assembly and pivotally connected to the coupler member adjacent the free extremity of the other leg of the coupler member, the shape of the coupler member enabling the U-shaped portion to describe an arc around the pivotal connection between the link and saddle assembly and the shank portion to be moved in opposite substantially linear directions by the arcuate movement of the U-shaped portion, and said link being angularly displaceable about its pivotal mounting to move said U-shaped portion in its arcuate path whereby the shank portion is moved in its linear path between a lowered disengaged position behind said weighting hook and a raised engaged position in which said weighting hook is lifted longitudinally from said stop to `apply weighting pressure to said saddle assembly.

2. A roller weighting device in a drafting mechanism having a plurality of consecutive pairs of drafting rollers, said device comprising a saddle assembly adapted to bear on the top rollers of said roller pairs, weighting means including an upwardly extending weighting hook positioned below said roller pairs and urged downwardly against a fixed stop by said weighting means, a hook-shaped coupler member having a dependent shank part adapted for engagement with said weighting hook, a double armed -Lshapedlever having a shorter arm constituting a link which is pivotally mounted on said saddle assembly and pivotally connected to the coupler member adjacent the hooked extremity thereof, the said coupler member being of such a formation as to enable it to describe an arc around the pivotal connection between the link and saddle assembly, said link being angularly displaceable about its pivotal mounting to move said coupler shank between `a lowered disengaged position behind said weighting hook and a raised engaged position in which said weighting hook is lifted longitudinally from said stop to apply weighting pressure to said saddle assembly, and said double armed lever having a longer arm for facilitating the angular displacement of the link, the lever being pivoted to the coupler member adjacent the junction of said two arms and being pivoted to the saddle assembly adjacent the free end of said link arm.

3. A roller weighting device as claimed in claim 2 in which said pivotal connections are relatively located, in the raised engaging position of said coupler member, to provide a locking action against lowering of said coupler member and the engaged weighting hook.

4. A roller weighting device as claimed in claim 2 in which the pivotal mounting of said lever is arranged to bear against the inner edge of the coupler hook during lowering of the coupler member whereby the shank of the latter is positively swung rearwardly out of engagement with the weighting hook.

5. In a drafting mechanism having at least four consecutive pairs of drafting rollers, a roller weighting device comprising a front saddle arranged to bear on the top rollers of the rst `and second roller pairs, a rear saddle arranged in tandem with said rst saddle and bearing on the top rollers of the third and fourth roller pairs, a bridging member having its ends pivotally connected respectively to the front and rear saddles, weighting means for transmitting a downward pull on said saddle assembly through a weighting hook located beneath the mechanism and having its upper end projecting between said second and third roller pairs, a hook shaped coupler member having a dependent shank part adapted to engage the said weighting hook, and a short lever pivoted adjacent one end on said bridging piece and pivotally connected at the other end to the said coupler member near the hooked extremity thereof, said lever being angularly displaceable about its pivotal mounting between a forwardly and downwardly inclined position, in which said coupler shank is lowered and located behind the upper end of said weighting hook, and an upwardly extending position substantially in line with said weighting hook in which Said coupler shank is swung forwardly into engagement with said weighting hook and withdrawn towards said bridging member to apply weighting pressure to the saddle assembly, the said weighting hook being lifted by the coupler member during displacement of the said lever.

6. A drafting mechanism as claimed in claim 5 in which said front saddle has a forwardly projecting finger piece whereby said saddle can be turned about its pivot whilst the saddle assembly is weighted to lift the forward end of the saddle and relieve the weight on the top front drafting roller and in which pawl means are arranged on the bridging member to co-operate with 'a shoulder on the saddle so as to maintain the forward end of the latter in a lifted position whilst weighting pressure continues to be applied to the remaining three rollers.

7. A drafting mechanism as claimed in claim 6 in which said pawl means consists of a pawl which is pivoted on said bridging member above the shoulder of the front saddle, said pawl having a tail part arranged to engage said shoulder under gravity when the saddle is lifted an-d a projecting finger piece whereby said pawl can be disengaged from the shoulder by slightly lifting the forward end of the saddle and then depressing said nger piece.

8. For use in a roller weighting device in a drafting mechanism having a plurality of consecutive pairs of drafting rollers, a saddle assembly `adapted to bear on the top rollers of said roller pairs, weighting means including a weighting hook, and an actuating lever movably connected to the saddle assembly, a member adapted to cooperate with the lever and hook to form 'a coupling therebetween having a rst part adapted to be movably connected to the lever and so shaped as to be movable in an arc about the connection between the lever and saddle assembly and having a second part adapted to be connected to the hook and movable in opposite substantially linear ydirections by the arcuate movement of said rst part to move the hook to its operative position and to permit the hook to be moved to its inoperative position.

9. In a drafting mechanism having a plurality of consecutive pairs of drafting rollers, a saddle assembly adapted to bear on the top rollers of the roller pairs, weighting means including a weighting hook, and an actuating lever adapted to be movably connected to the saddle assembly, a coupler member adapted to be angularly moved by the lever and having a hook-shaped portion adapted to be movably connected to said lever for swinging in an arc about the connection between the lever and the saddle assembly when the lever is moved about its connection to the saddle assembly so that the angular movement imparted by the lever to the coupler member is absorbed by the hook-shaped portion, said coupler member having a substantially straight portion adapted to be connected to the weighting hook and movable in opposite substantially linear directions by the arcuate movement of the hook-shaped portion of the coupler member to move the weighting hook to its operative position and to permit the weighting hook to be moved to its inoperative position in a substantially linear path.

l0. In a spinning frame, a support, an arm movably mounted on said support and through which pressure is applied to the top rolls, catch means movably mounted on said arm at a location thereon spaced from said support and free thereof, a stirrup through which pressure is applied to said arm having attaching means at its upper end for engaging said catch means, and manually operable means connected to said catch means for moving the same in and out of engagement with said attaching means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,071,023 Calvert Feb. 16, 1937 2,301,226 Olney Nov. 10, 1942 2,548,232 Noguera Apr. l0, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 600,396 Great Britain Apr. 7, 1948 641,361 Great Britain Aug. 9, 1950 984,842 France July 1l, 1951 

